Treated wood and process of producing the same.



SIDNEY B. CHAPMAN, or SKYLAND, NORTH CAROLINA.

TREATED WOOD AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application filed May 23,1905- Serial No. 261,862-

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SIDNEY B. CHAPMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Skyland, in the county of Buncombe and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Treated W'ood and Processes of Producing the Same,- and I Lido hereby declare the following to be a full,

lea ly and exact description of the invention,

"such as will enable others skilled in the art to .hich it appertains to make and use the a My invention relates to improvements in treated wood and to the process of treating the same, and more particularly to wood imof such impregnation.

The object 1n view is the production from V 'relatively cheap timber of lumber having the appearance of high-grade timber; and this object is accomplished by treating a lowgrade timber for preventing warping and for altering the appearance thereof.

Itlis well known to those skilled in the art that sap-lumber, and particularly gum-sap, warps and becomes worthless during seasoning owing to such warping. Further, lumber made from timber of the gum family is of a cheap grade and considered inferior to the 'gher qualities of lumber. I have discovered that by treatmg green timber or green lumber, and particularly green gum-sap lumher, with a mixture of Water, sulfuric acid, and

' lead the warpin wilf'be prevented and the a pearance of t e Wood will be altered to t at of lumber of a higher quality. To secure the best results, the lumber or timber should bentreated Within afew hours after the tree has been'fell'ed, although it is possible to secure some results by such treatment Within a few days 'after the felling of the tree. The treatment of course must occur before the lumber is seasoned, as it is duringthe seasoning operation that the objectionable warping and deterioration of the Wood occurs, and the wood is therefore in a green state when treated, and the term green hereinafteremployed is intended to indicate any condition of the wood prior to the completionof its seasoning. It is not pregnated with sulfuric acid and the process absolutely essential that lead enter into the compound employed for the treatment in order to secure some results, and other dilutant than water may be employed, if desired, or it is possible to treat the timber with sulfuric acid, although the best results are obtained by the treating of the timber with sulfuric acid diluted with water, and when so treated the timber does not warp in seasoning, but remains straight and assumes an appearance simulating that of timber of higher quality.

The present process of treating green lumber or timber involves applying a solution of sulfuric acid with some dilutant or sulfuricacid and lead with some dilutant to the green lumber or timber newly severed from the growing state and permitting the solution to lmpregnate the lumber or timber to a greater or less degree, according to the result desired. By carrying out this process the inevitable result is a treatedwood consisting of green lumber impregnated with sulfuric acid or a solution of sulfuric acid and some dilutant or sulfuric acid, lead, and some dilutant, accordiiig to which of the elements are employed in carrying out the process.

In carrying out the present process I find that good results may be obtained by mixin j three and one half gallons of sulfuric a with fift' lgallons-eiwater, and t s mix ore is placed in alvat and the lumber ,being treated is placed on a lumber-conveyer which passes through the vat. The lumber is permitted to remain inthe mixture of sul furic acid and water until thoroughly satur rated, and it is then withdrawn and dried. While good results have been secured by utilizing the proportions suggested and by carry- 1ng out the process in the manner stated, it'is 0 of course possible to attain good results by using other proportions and carrying out the 4 process in other ways. I therefore wish it clearly understood that, while the foregoin explanation is given so that any one skille in the art may be fully informed as to how the present process may be carried out, I consider this invention as comprehending any steps involving the subjecting of green wood to the action of sulfuric acid.

-l l l m mo M as y m H mm C aw I fa Y on E mum N e D h w & Hf m0 6 .Lmm uw m imp .m g .m S n P e in a green stateraim 1s.- 1. An article of manufacture com wood which has been subjected to the action id w 2. Green Wood acid.

What I 01 of sulfuric ac ated with sulfuric Witnesses:v subjecting green M. H. ATKINS,

ci 4 R. F. CHAPMAN.

lmpregn 3. A process comprising 3 wood to the action of sulfuric a 

